EP:4
1451 Words
HOPE'S POV.
Amber nodded. “Our Delta just brought one of our enemies into the healer’s den, brother!”
Damon turned to Dawn.
“It’s true,” Dawn confirmed softly. “Look at the mark — the Wolvesden warrior crest. He’s one of them. I don’t know what Hope was thinking bringing him here, but I’m sure she didn’t mean any harm. She was just trying to help… in her own way.”
Damon glared at me. “Is this true?”
“Yes,” I said. “We didn’t know who he was, but even if we did, I would still have helped. He was drowning in the river, Prince Damon. He was bound in chains and bleeding. Leaving him meant death.”
Amber scoffed. “Hero act. We all know the truth.”
“He was dying. I made the choice to save him,” I said.
“You made a call without authorization?!” Damon barked.
“A life was at stake,” I said firmly.
Amber snorted. “Still playing hero. Maybe it’s time we replace her before her stubbornness kills us all.”
“Enough,” Damon snapped. “Until further notice, you’re suspended from patrol duty, Hope. Delta Vera will oversee the team.”
I froze. “For rescuing a survivor?”
“For going against pack rules!” he said flatly. “I’m preventing another mistake, Delta Hope. I’ve been too lenient with you. I tried to understand, considering how hard the rejection has been on you. But this — this is the height of it. I’m not letting you off this time.”
I sighed, shaking my head. Then I nodded. “Fine. I accept your punishment, Alpha Damon.”
Then I turned my back on him without another word, facing Marwen as she and the other healers worked on the stranger.
Suddenly, the stranger jerked violently on the table, arching his back and clawing at the wood. The healers panicked.
“It’s the poison! It’s moving too deep!” one cried.
I frowned and stepped closer despite Damon’s warning.
“Hope, what are you doing? Stay back!” Damon barked.
The stranger’s eyes snapped open, glowing faintly. His gaze found mine, and a low growl rumbled from his chest. Despite barely surviving, he was strong—stronger than he should have been.
“Hold him!” Damon ordered.
The healers struggled, but his muscles tensed as if he were ready to fight everyone. I moved closer. “They’re trying to help you. Stop fighting… please.”
I didn’t even know why I was begging. Somehow, seeing him in this much pain made me uneasy, even if he was literally a stranger.
His eyes shifted to me and for a moment, they softened. Then he slowly reached out and grabbed my wrist. He held on tight—not enough to hurt, but as if he were seeking some kind of comfort from the pain.
Before I could react, Damon lunged, yanking me back. “Enough! Don’t touch her!”
The stranger growled, dominance clear in his gaze. They stared each other down, neither yielding.
Finally, his growl turned into a rough cough, chest heaving. He whispered, “Why… did you save me?”
I yanked my arm from Damon’s grip, ignoring his glare, and leaned closer. “What? What do you mean?”
“You shouldn’t have,” he rasped. “They’ll come for you… for all of you.”
“Who?” I asked, stepping closer despite Damon’s glare.
“You don’t understand… you’re in danger,” he muttered, chest rising unevenly. “You’re all in danger.”
“Slow down,” I urged. “You’re safe. Can you tell me your name?”
For a moment he didn’t speak. Then finally, “Kian,” he whispered hoarsely.
I nodded. “Kian, how did you end up here in Lunar Dome?”
His eyes darted around, then fixed back on me. “Wolvesden,” he said, barely audible. “Alpha Valentine. He… He sent my own men after me. I fought, but they were too many—”
It hit me then. His own men…
“Wait,” I frowned. “Kian, as in Wolvesden’s Delta? You’re the Delta of Wolvesden pack?”
Slowly, his head moved up and down in a weak nod, confirming what I feared.
The room froze. Damon’s anger turned into alertness.
“Alpha Valentine? You mean your alpha sent you here?” I asked.
Kian’s body shook, head jerking weakly. “N–no… not sent. Dead. They want me dead. They are after my life…”
I frowned. His words weren’t making sense. Why would Wolvesden want their Delta dead?
He breathed heavily, his fingers clutching the table tightly as his body shook from the effect of the poison.
Kian…
My frown deepened. Wolvesden’s Delta—I've heard about him, but never met him. But why would they attack him?
Vera stepped forward, eyes narrowing. “Wait… are you telling me Wolvesden is hunting their own Delta now? To the point where he ended up in the river in our territory?”
Liam froze, lips parting slightly. “That… that doesn’t make sense. Why would his own pack…?”
Amber scoffed. “He’s lying. He’s lying to save himself.”
Damon crossed his arms. “Clearly. Apparently, he thinks we’re fools. Why would Valentine suddenly want his own Delta dead?”
But Kian ignored them. His body trembled, strained from pain. “I… need to leave… I can’t stay here…” he whispered, struggling to push himself up, only to collapse again—limp and barely conscious.
Marwen stepped forward as the healers worked. “There’s a deadly poison in his veins,” she explained, urgency in her voice. “It’s spreading fast—that black vein you see running up his left arm is the poison. That’s why he keeps convulsing and drifting in and out of consciousness. If we don’t act now, it will kill him. He won’t last till dawn.”
I leaned closer. “Is there nothing you can do for him?”
“There is,” Marwen said. “A rare herb—redleaf—can neutralize the poison, but you can only find it in caves in our woods. The storm makes it impossible to go get it safely.”
I exhaled slowly, watching as he lay there, life slipping from him.
I knew the herb she was talking about—I’d seen Odette with it a few times.
“I’ll go,” I said. “I’ll get the herb.”
“What?!” Dawn and Amber shouted in unison.
“Hope, don’t be foolish. How can you risk your life in this storm because of a total stranger? An enemy at that,” Dawn said, fists clenched at her sides as she glared at me.
“It’s my life to risk, Dawn,” I reminded her calmly. “My choice.”
Damon’s head snapped toward me, fury blazing in his eyes. “Are you insane? The storm out there—no one goes out in that weather, Hope! You’re not going anywhere!”
But I had already turned toward the door. “Keep him stable, Marwen. I’ll be back with the herb.”
“You take one step out that door and you will answer for it. Do you hear me?” Damon raged behind me. “You will be stripped of your rank—your position—if you choose to disobey me one more time tonight, Delta Hope!”
I ignored him and opened the door, stepping into the storm.
“Hope! Are you insane?!” Dawn’s voice echoed after me.
Damon slammed his hand on the doorway, his voice ripping through the rain. “Hope!” he bellowed, every word full of ice and fury. “Get back here now! That’s a direct order from me as the head prince of this kingdom, Delta Hope!”
I kept moving. Rain soaked my face, mud swallowed my boots, but I didn’t slow. Not even when his last threat shook the doorway behind me. He kept yelling—fury and warning tangled together—but it was like thunder from far away. I pretended I hadn’t heard a word.
“Hope, are you sure about this?” Fawn asked quietly when we were far enough away.
An image of the dying man flashed behind my eyes—the blood, the poisonous black veins, the way he convulsed even as he spoke… the way he clutched my wrist earlier, like it was the only thing standing between him and agony.
And my decision was made.
“I am.”
- Writer
